(Davis, California)  The city of Davis, in Northern California, has passed a resolution calling on the state to legalize gay marriage.

The resolution asks Gov. Gray Davis and the state Legislature to "end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people and their families by (removing) references to sex and gender as eligibility requirements for a civil marriage license."

Mayor Susie Boyd said allowing gays and lesbians the right to marry is a civil matter, not religious.

"I have the deepest respect for those of you who hold this as a religious belief, that marriage is between a man and woman," Boyd said.  " (However,) I think that the civil rights and the legal issues are really what we need to grapple with tonight, and marriage provides certain protections and benefits ... that are people's rights."

The four council members present supported the resolution, including Councilman Ted Puntillo, who initially had reservations. Mayor Pro Tem Ruth Asmundson was absent Wednesday due to an illness in her family.

"I think that two consenting adults should be able to marry each other, and I think that the government should just butt out," Councilman Mike Harrington said. Harrington last week said that he believes gay marriage is one of the last important civil rights issues in the country.

"It just seems to me," Councilwoman Sue Greenwald added, "that it's to the benefit of society to encourage people to enter into committed relationships and to take (responsibility) for each other."

Before voting council heard from about 30 public speakers. 

Ellen Pontac and her partner Shelly Bailes were among the supporters of the resolution.  

"Although Ellen and I have been together for almost 30 years and have wills and trusts, when one of us dies, our house will be reassessed and the survivor will have to pay taxes on that reassessment," Bailes said. "It's very likely that the survivor (won't) be able to (pay them) and (will) have to move."

Other supporters testified that the resolution was simply a matter of equality.

"I am growing up," Davis High student Jesse Smith said. "As I grow, I will fall in love with somebody. Whether that's a man or a woman, I should be allowed to marry that person."

Public speakers on both sides of the resolution referred to the statewide March 2000 vote on the "California Defense of Marriage Act," which defined marriage in state law as between a man and a woman. The measure, Proposition 22, was successful statewide, but more than two-thirds of Davisites opposed it.